Desk Jobs Can Pose Health Risks

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Work these days has undergone a magnitude
of changes as compared to what it was many years back. While our grandparents
did work involving a lot of physical
activity, nowadays work is most often a desk job or is computer-related. This type of work has, no doubt,
our minds working very hard; but that also means that we sit and stare at the
computer for hours together with few
breaks without even realizing that we need to get up and stretch our legs a
bit.

Desk Jobs Can Pose Health Risks

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When we sit down for most part of the day, we are in a static position.
Many times, this is also coupled with a bad posture. Prolonged sitting can
cause impairment in fat and cholesterol metabolism. When we keep doing this
subconsciously day in and day out, in the long run, this leads to muscle
damage, back, neck and even shoulder pain.

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Spending almost an entire day in front of a computer leads to strain
and fatigue of our eyes resulting in burning and itching of the eyes and
headaches.

This so called 'chair-disease' or 'sedentary lifestyle' could eventually
lead to increased risk of heart disease,
obesity, diabetes, some forms of
cancers and premature death. Numerous studies have been conducted to date to
conclusively prove this.

A study published in the International Journal of Behavioral
Nutrition and Physical Activity showed that while many of the women
participating in the study met or exceeded 150 minutes of physical activity per
week, which is the federal government`s current Physical Activity Guidelines
for Americans, in reality only a fraction of the women's days were spent being
physically active. The participants of this study spent an average of about
nine hours of the day just sitting.

We need to understand the health hazards of being physically
inactive and should look for more ways to get moving. It is important to understand what we are doing during those non-gym or
non-exercise times in our day and its long term effects on our health.

So, here are some valuable tips:

When you arrive at work, make it
a point to walk up those few flight of stairs instead of fighting to get into
the elevator to reach your office on time.

Make sure you get up and take frequent short breaks. This will get
your blood circulation going and help lower your cholesterol and triglycerides.

Stretch, walk around and do some
non-computer related activities. And if you think you get too involved in your
work, set a timer on your computer as a reminder to pause your work and get
moving around.

Opt to walk and go to your
favorite restaurant for lunch whenever possible. You will certainly feel more
energetic when you walk around and get some fresh air.

While at home, walk and talk on
the phone and while watching TV, get up and move around during commercial breaks.

If you make this walking around
while taking short breaks a daily habit, you surely will enhance your
metabolism and you could eventually also lose those extra unwanted calories.
Stress levels would automatically go down and you will feel less fatigued and
more productive.

We have all
heard about 'Spare the rod and spoil the child'; now it's time to 'Spare the
chair and reap long-term health benefits'. It's your life after all, take
charge of your own destiny and enjoy it to the fullest!

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